The Importance of Proper Journalism

The media sources and ways we get our news have changed greatly in the past decade as online news sources have become a leading source for many people.

Many people, especially young people, have switched from paper newspapers and magazines to online sources and other new media sources. Journalism is still important to many students at Sharon High School, so even though the ways of interacting with the news have changed, journalism is still well and alive.

According to Pew Research, about 2 in 5 Americans get their news online, which is more than radio and print newspaper. This trend exists at SHS too as many students, teachers, and other faculty members all get part of their news online.

SHS freshman Gabi Struss gets her news every morning by radio and believes in the importance of the press. She says that she wants to be informed about news, in school and outside of school.

“Journalism is important because I want a way to get my news and get it quickly. We can’t be everywhere in the world at once, so this way we understand what is going on in the world,” said Struss.

SHS freshman Kshama Kolur does catch up on the news with online sources, but rarely does so. She adds that the news is just not that important to her. She says that she usually gets her news “once a week”.

SHS junior Prabhu Rajkumar says that it is important to learn about events happening in the world and that it is vital that we have ways to get the news. “Journalism is important because I think it is the duty of the media to get people to understand what’s going on, so without journalism we wouldn’t know a lot of the important things we do know.”

ELA and journalism teacher Mr. Glenn Shiebler says that the media plays a large role in our society. “The news is important because it puts the real truth out there,” he said.

“One of the most important reasons why school news is important is because there are all of these rumors that float around which can lead to all sorts of misconceptions. The other reason is simply because people need to be informed about not only what is going on in school, but also what is going on in the world,” said Shiebler.

SHS librarian assistant Ms. Allison Jones says that journalism is vital to the US. She understands the importance of the information the press puts out and keeps up to date with the news everyday with two newspapers and other online sources.

“I really believe in the power and importance of the press. I think the United States can’t survive without a strong press looking over what the government does and keeping an eye out on things that happen to people,” said Jones.

Shiebler says that much of the media is often not trustworthy. “What makes good journalism are unbiased, researched stories, but they are hard to find.” He says that “much of the mainstream media, television media” is untrustworthy.

“Too much of the media, including local news, is all about crashes, murders, fires, and celebrity news. It’s becoming harder to find really solid journalism,” said Shiebler.